Any artist, when he goes in to record, should have the feeling that any song he records can be a hit. This may sound egotistical, but it makes sense.
Interpretation
Artists should have confidence in their work, believing any creation has the potential for success.
Ray Charles emphasizes the importance of belief in one's artistic creations. The quote suggests that an artist should approach their work with the mindset that every song they record has the potential to resonate with audiences and become a hit. This confidence might seem egotistical, but it allows for greater creativity and freedom in the artistic process.
In practice
In an artist seminar to inspire young musicians.
I suppose I've always done my share of crying, especially when there's no other way to contain my feelings. I know that men ain't supposed to cry, but I think that's wrong. Crying's always been a way for me to get things out which are buried deep, deep down. When I sing, I often cry. Crying is feeling, and feeling is being human. Oh yes, I cry.
I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great.
To me, music is entertainment - what else can it be? In fact, it's the only language I know of that's universal.
Just because you can't see anything , doesn't mean you should shut your eyes.
When I started to sing like myself - as opposed to imitating Nat Cole, which I had done for a while - when I started singing like Ray Charles, it had this spiritual and churchy, this religious or gospel sound. It had this holiness and preachy tone to it. It was very controversial. I got a lot of criticism for it.
The important thing is to feel your music, really feel it and believe it.
Architecture is a dangerous mix of power and importance.
The deal is such that when I begin writing something, I open a door, and those characters come in, and then they won't leave, and so I live with them every day, all day. They are there with me when I'm driving my kids to school, when I'm standing in line at the grocery store.
The spirit of creation is the spirit of contradiction. It is the breakthrough of appearances toward an unknown reality.
If I would be born in New Zealand, maybe, I would never write the Polish Requiem or pieces which were connected with the history of war. But this was my childhood. War was the main subject, and also in our family.
Music, at its essence, is what gives us memories. And the longer a song has existed in our lives, the more memories we have of it.
We shouldn't be copying what we see. We should try to find our own sense of style, to believe in ourselves.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.